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Alfresco vs Box vs OpenText Documentum Content Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Alfresco is 7.1%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Box is 3.7%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Documentum Content Management is 6.4%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Content Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Alfresco7.1%
OpenText Documentum Content Management6.4%
Box3.7%
Other82.8%
Enterprise Content Management
 

Featured Reviews

UC
Technical Project Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Extensive customization and governance enhance document management experience
Currently, the challenge is the general availability to users. Initially, they had poor documentation, but over the years, their documentation has highly improved. Initially, we had challenges finding the extension points and understanding how to extend the system. The workflow was one of the hurdles we had. At that time, it was not that beautiful or feature-rich. Even today, workflow consists of basic workflows. If you want to extend, you have to implement your own customizations. They are using it extensively with features such as records management, CMIS, Share UI, and Web Scripts. All these features are being used extensively. Governance of this system is required. If you don't have proper governance, things can go wrong. If you don't have a proper policy of how documents should be maintained, issues can arise. You have to make rules, such as one folder should not have more than 5,000 subfolders or children. This was advised by Alfresco, but we did not have that advice, so we had challenges when everything was dumped into single folders. It slows down the systems and sometimes becomes unusable. Whoever is going to use it should have that governance system in place.
Ahmed Rashad - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Projects Manager at Tech-hub
Team collaboration has improved through shared access and real-time synchronization
I find the synchronization feature most valuable in Box. When I use multiple devices, it syncs them together and gives excellent results. I can assess the benefits of Box's file sharing. Box's integration with third-party apps is valuable, especially with Outlook. Box has helped my team's productivity by being very helpful with team collaboration when we are sharing certain shared documents between us. I mostly value Box's automation capabilities. They have helped optimize my business processes by saving time for sharing or sending files between the team. This gives us a shared workspace to work together on the same document or the same ideas. Box's security features have helped my organization meet compliance needs.
FC
Consultant In Risk Management and Performance Improvemenf at Deloitte Risk Advisory
User finds integration useful but seeks improvement in interface intuitiveness
I am satisfied with OpenText Documentum so far; it has great integration capabilities. The connection with our API and SAP is useful, as you can use their SAP interface. The key point that my company decided to go with OpenText Documentum is mostly because you can integrate it with many other tools such as Salesforce.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"You can meet your users' expected features without having Alfresco's involvement."
"If you are looking for a product which has all the common functionalities such as document and media management, record management, workflows, document indexing and searching, then in that case, Alfresco is the platform that you need."
"Alfresco is a very good product that has very good inbuilt features, and at the same time, it is customizable and we can customize this product the way we want."
"I like the ease of use, sections, and calendar."
"The initial setup was straightforward, because Alfresco also provides a stack installer that includes the required supporting software."
"Alfresco is the only enterprise CMS that has features like contribution, sharing, workflows, automation and robust content and record management, that are also Open Source."
"The features which are most valuable to us are rapid deployment, ease of installation, ease of use, and Linux platform support."
"The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes is also significant."
"Box thinks of features before I realize I want them!"
"Box's automation capabilities have helped optimize my business processes by saving time for sharing or sending files between the team."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the set of security options that can be set when sharing files with a group."
"Box is extremely stable, they have not been hacked or lost any data in the past seventeen years."
"Governance and ease of use are why I think a lot of people like Box, including ourselves, because we use a lot of the Box governance features to make sure that what is being sent to Box is appropriate, and it is also pretty easy to use and is the easiest to use for customers and for technologists."
"It is a very user-friendly product."
"Customer service is top notch with having a dedicated customer success manager assigned to the account."
"The interface is very good."
"In terms of scalability, Documentum is a very good product; it's scalable, flexible, and reliable."
"The stability is very good, and sometimes we have connection issues with the DocBase Java Method Servers or DocBroker services because our project is about 400 megabytes and very big, but the designer works hard to resolve it."
"The most valuable feature is that it's a central repository for everything, whether it's videos, documents, Excel sheets, etc."
"The storage of metadata content, workflows, and life cycles are the most valuable features of OpenText Documentum."
"I appreciate Documentum's scalability, allowing for vast volumes of content storage."
"It provides possibilities for us to save documents and supporting the business process while doing so."
"The most valuable feature of Documentum for our content management needs is its ability to segregate access based on department and role."
"It stands out for its impressive records management capabilities and the ability to handle an extensive volume of documents, even reaching into the billions."
 

Cons

"Alfresco has a very steep learning curve, and unfortunately, during the learning process, it's very easy to make errors, which often are unforgiving."
"Metadata, auto class, disposition log, and legal hold."
"We did encounter some stability issues when there were many simultaneous requests on the server."
"Alfresco has a very steep learning curve, and unfortunately, during the learning process, it's very easy to make errors, which often are unforgiving."
"I think the presentation layer could be improved - currently, it's too complex, and there are too many features cluttered all over the screen."
"Technical Support: Average, this might be because I am quite experienced and the questions I have might be difficult to find an answer to quickly as I have probably already exhausted most solution possibilities before I contact support."
"I would like them to consider document capture functionality. Currently, for document capture functionality (ocr, read document metadata automatically, automatic document classification), Alfresco needs to be integrated with document capture such as: Kofax, Ephesoft, etc., while other Alfresco competitors already make document capture functionality as their default functionality."
"There is need to improve features such as the record management and case management in the product."
"The security settings are such that if I have a folder with subfolders several levels deep, whatever security setting I have for the parent folder gets inherited at all the subfolders. This has been limiting."
"The room for improvement is in the area of integrations. They need to establish more integrations, especially with Office 365 and Outlook."
"Sometimes, their website doesn't work properly."
"The room for improvement is in the area of integrations. They need to establish more integrations, especially with Office 365 and Outlook."
"Tasks and comments could be easier to see, report, search, and manage."
"There are always some limitations, but as a technologist, I just live with them, and there is always room for improvement, but I don't have anything quantifiable."
"The Search functionality needs to be more robust and behave like Google Search."
"Working on documents in real-time is sometimes faulty and could be improved."
"It's difficult to manage and customize Documentum."
"An area that needs to improve is how to reduce storage space on the AWS site."
"One area for improvement in OpenText Documentum is its handling of outdated documents, especially technical ones."
"The user interface can be improved. Searching for documents is complex and should be easier."
"I would like to see performance improvements, especially regarding slow response times."
"It should provide more tools to help clients upgrade solutions based on Webtop."
"It needs a better UI and it should also be cloud-ready. The UI has not changed in years."
"Documentum xCP 2.3 still has some drawbacks such as dependent filtration among multiple drop down lists in result list, unable to access all user tasks from all processes in user inbox, and unable to include task link in task notification mail automatically."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is cheaper compared to head-to-head competitors."
"The license for Alfresco is expensive - not the maximum, but close. There are also extra costs once you start building integrations, as implementation seems to be very costly."
"There are costs for any upgrade or additional functions."
"If you buy Alfresco through a partner, there is usually a OEM licensing option."
"My organization pays for the license."
"The more you dig, the deeper the level of tools, and the more expensive it becomes."
"Our pricing and licensing is excellent. I'd tell all Higher Ed customers to talk with Internet2 for excellent pricing and support."
"I have to pay for Box. It could be a little cheaper. On a scale from one to ten, I would give the pricing a five."
"Better sign a full year's contract to get a discount."
"There's a free version that allows you to use it with almost full-feature access. Even in the free version, it gives you all you need."
"I believe Box is cheaper than SharePoint."
"The pricing may seem steep at first, but delve into the features and you'll soon realize it is incredible value for what you get."
"It falls in line with a lot of things that are out there on the market. There is nothing extraordinary in terms of great or bad."
"OpenText Documentum has announced a new licensing model, which could be more expensive."
"The product is expensive."
"It is quite an expensive product."
"The price is considered affordable now."
"OpenText Documentum's pricing is good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise27
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise28
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alfresco?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing is that Alfresco is very cheap and cost-effective.
What needs improvement with Alfresco?
One area where Alfresco can be improved is the ability to scan directly using Alfresco. Additionally, I would appreci...
What is your primary use case for Alfresco?
My main use case for Alfresco is that I implemented Alfresco Content Services to solve complex enterprise problems fo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Box?
I found the pricing reasonable because when I was working for an IBM partner, Box was free for us. We did not go to p...
What needs improvement with Box?
I believe Box has a lot of features that put it in a good rank among the file-sharing apps. I would like to see featu...
What is your primary use case for Box?
I use Box, Delphi, and IBM FileNet. I worked for a software company as a project manager, and this experience include...
What needs improvement with OpenText Documentum?
The interface of OpenText Documentum could be more intuitive; sometimes it is hard to find where the information is l...
What is your primary use case for OpenText Documentum?
We are using it to archive the information about our sales.
What advice do you have for others considering OpenText Documentum?
One of my colleagues has found some automation features. It is not my responsibility regarding security features; I a...
 

Also Known As

No data available
No data available
Dell EMC Documentum, Documentum , Documentum xCelerated Composition Platform
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Over 1,300 companies from 180 different countries. Including EuroStar, Saks Fifth Avenue, NASA Langley Research Center, and KLM.
GE, Toyota, P&G, Caterpillar, Flex, Schneider Electric, Sally Beauty, Eurostar, AstraZeneca, AirBnB, Whirlpool, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Nationwide, Aeropostale etc
Agility; Bibliotheca Alexandrina; Capitec Bank; Department of Social Development, Republic of South Africa; County of Los Angeles, Department of Human Resources; Fresenius Kabi; Heathrow Airport; Lahey Health; Linde PLC; Milestone Pharma Co. Ltd; National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development; Open Grid Europe GmbH; REPCO NEX Industrial Solutions; Springer Nature; Syngene International; Tata Power DDL; University of Texas Austin
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Hyland, IBM and others in Enterprise Content Management. Updated: April 2026.
892,383 professionals have used our research since 2012.